USA > Virginia > A history of Virginia : from its discovery and settlement by Europeans to the present time. Vol. II > Part 22
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Had the spirit of party operated merely on the questions springing from the politics of America, it might not have produced the effect exhibited at the close of the eighteenth century ; but there were foreign elements intermingling with the domestic views of the parties, and adding intense bitterness
342
FRENCH REVOLUTION.
[CHAP. VI.
to their feuds. This subject has a bearing upon the fortunes 'of Virginia so direct that it will be proper to unfold it.
In the very year in which the United States assumed a stable government, France commenced her Revolution. Heated minds within her bosom had watched eagerly the progress of liberty in the New World. Centuries of pressure had prepared her people for an outburst of feeling when first it could come forth. A luxurious court, which had fed its own pleasures on the property of its sub- jects ; taxes, accumulated until they could no longer be borne ; a vast ecclesiastical system living in ease, and holding the richest possessions of the land ; and a government responsible only to itself for its measures; these had been the continued causes urging to rebellion. The final success of America was an example too tempting to be re- sisted. How much her teachings and her sym- pathy affected France, history has long since con- ceded. On the 14th of July, 1789, the Bastile was torn down, its governor fell a victim to the rage of the populace, and sovereign and nobles were finally awakened to know the power of the " third estate."
Could France have been content to stop when it was in her power to obtain a limited government, and every guarantee for rational freedom, she might have secured her own welfare, and spared the world the most horrible page of its history. But a spirit of wild innovation had arisen,-the bonds of society had been loosened by pernicious doctrines
.
343
ITS EXCESSES.
1793.]
of which Voltaire was the chief author. Men learned to deny their duty to the Supreme, and by necessary consequence, they forgot their duty to one another. The stream of revolution, which, at first, had been but slightly tinged, grew darker in hue, until it was all blood. King and queen, guards of the palace, prisoners of state, the titled, the obscure, the innocent, the guilty, the philosophic Girondist and the brutal Jacobin, bled in succession to supply this stream. From a despotic but brilliant monarchy, France passed into a democracy of madmen; and from convul- sions which would have ended in death, she was only relieved by the stern rule of the MAN OF DESTINY.
When her struggle for freedom commenced, there were few in America who did not look on her with solicitude. All wished that she should be free, and many thought that for this purpose violence must be used. Through the states, enthusiasm was kindled in her favour; meetings were held; ad- dresses were delivered ; toasts were drunk expres- sive of popular opinion. We have yet on record a series of sentiments uttered on the fourth anniver- sary of the day when the Bastile was destroyed, and one bore special reference to that event : " May the Bastile of Despotism throughout the earth be crumbled into dust, and the Phoenix of Freedom grow out of its ashes."a France was still regarded as the ally of America. But as the appalling phe-
a Appendix in Marshall's Wash- toasts here given are worthy of at- ington, v. note viii. 20. All the tention.
344
POPULAR SENTIMENTS.
[CHAP. VI.
nomena of her Revolution succeeded one another,- each rising in horror above its predecessor,-a great change occurred in public feeling in the United States. The prudent doubted ; the moderate cen- sured; the virtuous recoiled. There was nothing in her course that assimilated it to the steady adhe- rence to principle which had gained rational free- dom for the republics of the New World. None were more firm in reproving her conduct, than the men who had been first in achieving American Independence. Washington, as chief magistrate of his country, resisted all attempts to involve her in French interests. Louis, the sovereign who had aided America in the critical hour, had been put to death, and with him fell many of the generous men who had advised his policy. Washington saw in the misshapen thing called a "Directory," no re- sponsibility to trust, and no virtue to respect. He treated Genet, the French minister, with decision ; and, finding him persevering in efforts to tamper with the people, and destroy the neutrality of the United States, he demanded his recall.
Yet, even to the last, there were many in the Union who sympathized with France, and thought her entitled to full countenance from their country. In Virginia, nearly all of the Republican party held these views; they believed that the revolution of the new republic was founded on a firm basis, and though they blamed her excesses, they thought them but the throes of a moment, which would pass and leave her safe. There were not wanting men of great mental strength in the state, who had
1
1797.]
PRESIDENT JOHN ADAMS.
345
imbibed some of the religious, or rather irreligious philosophy of France. Atheism indeed they re- jected ; but simple Deism had charms for minds that loved not the humbling doctrines of Christ. These men would naturally see all the vices of the new régime with lenient eyes, would defend her course, and would denounce, as a British spirit, every disposition to check her influence in Ame- rica.
1
(1797.) Thus had a foreign element intermingled with the politics of the Union, when on the 4th of March of this year, John Adams of Massachusetts was raised to the presidential chair. He was a tried friend of liberty ; he had been among the first to speak for independence; he was an honest man ; in the language of his great political opponent, " A man more perfectly honest never issued from the hands of his Creator."a But his manner was not gracious, his temper not compromising. He was a Federalist of the straitest sect; a living embodi- ment of the principles of his party, when urged to their extreme results. In no point did he more heartily concur in the policy of the preceding admi- nistration, than in its views of French politics, and when he became chief magistrate, he was ready to go beyond all before him on this subject. He had served his country in Europe, in several high offices, and all that he had there seen and heard confirmed his judgments against France. There can be little doubt that he carried his opposition to
a Thomas Jefferson. See Lincoln's Lives of the Presidents, 90.
346
LEADING MEASURES.
[CHAP. VI.
an unreasonable extent ;ª it caused him to see other subjects of national interest through a deceptive medium, and finally led him to assent to measures which shook the Union to its centre.
In Virginia, the Republican party were ever active, and many circumstances now concurred to draw into its ranks the learning, the talent, and much of the patriotism of the state. Some of the earliest supporters of the Constitution saw with re- gret that this sacred instrument was in danger of being made subservient to purposes fatal to free- dom. Taking advantage of certain general expres- sions and clauses in the eighth section of the first article, Congress had exercised powers which, by no sound exegesis, could be claimed, and the Pre- sident had approved. There was a virulence of feeling entertained towards the chief magistrate of the country, which was much to be deplored ; but he had, unhappily, given some occasion for it by words used in his published letters, in which he had expressed preference for aristocracy, and had spoken of a "faction" in Virginia which ought to be "ground into dust and ashes."b His leading measures were regarded with alarm, and though good in themselves, they were then considered as part of a system destructive of the independence of the states. He increased the "standing army," gave it compactness, and earnestly sought to or- ganize its officers and men ; he expanded the policy
a Lincoln, 89.
b Compare James Barbour's pages 116, 119, 207.
speech with Henry Lee's. Resol.
and Debates, Richmond edit. 1835,
347
ARMORY AT RICHMOND.
1798.]
of Washington as to the navy ; built sloops, cor- vettes, frigates, and made strong this arm of na- tional power.
(1798.) When all the causes operating upon the public mind in Virginia are weighed, we may be prepared to understand the course she pursued in the memorable events of '98 and '99. The first measure she adopted is one around which a cloud of mystery has been thrown that is not dispelled by cotemporary records. But the ominous silence ob- served at the time will, in itself, furnish evidence tending to solve the mystery. On the 23d of Jan- uary the Legislature, after a preamble studiously brief, enacted a law greatly extending the means for state defence. Two arsenals were to be provided in addition to that already existing at the Point of Fork. An armory was to be speedily built at Richmond, and vigorous means were to be used for the manufacture of arms. The building was itself to be large enough for storing in safety ten thousand stand of muskets; and pistols, holsters, and swords were to be prepared for troops of ca- valry.ª No delay occurred in carrying out these provisions. The building arose, which has ever since excited the interest of visiters to the metro- polis of the Old Dominion. Artificers were soon at work, and the result of their labours has been apparent.
Sixty thousand muskets have been committed to the hands of the state militia, or else are retained in
ª Statutes at large, (new series,) ii. 87, 88.
f
348
ARMS.
[CHAP. VI.
condition to make them serviceable at short notice.2 Two hundred and twelve pieces of cannon are ranged around the upper and lower platforms of the armory yard, most of them are of small calibre, but some are very heavy. With these, have been placed six beautiful brass siege-pieces, and two mortars, concerning which a singular obscurity prevails in our records. The opinion best sus- tained is that they were landed from a French ship of war during the siege of Yorktown, and that they were a gift from the sovereign of France to the " unterrified commonwealth."b
Why this warlike preparation, these bright bayo- nets, this formidable array of cannon? We will not pretend to answer by referring to the printed witnesses of the times; they are cautious, more than cautious,-they are silent. But, in subsequent years, gray-haired citizens have had the seal taken from their lips, and have told us that surrounding events had much to do with this war spirit. And her own instructions soon afterwards delivered to her senators and delegates in Congress, will show how much the state apprehended from the standing army, the growing navy, the gradual advances of the General Government." Had she been compelled
ª The following statement has been politely furnished to me by Mr. for April, 1847.
John H. Knowles, foreman of the armory :
35,000 muskets, either now in the armory, or in the hands of the mi- litia ; 10,000 rifles, pistols, &c., do. do .; 30,000 muskets at the Military Academy in Lexington, Virginia ; total, 75,000 stand of arms.
b See S. and W. Lit. Messenger,
c MS. Journal of H. of D. for 1799. By the kindness of George Wythe Munford, Esq., Clerk of the Virginia House of Delegates, I have been permitted to examine this precious original. See, also, Resol. and De- bates, 15-20.
349
THE PUBLIC PRESS.
1798.]
to fight for her sovereignty, Virginia would have been prepared. But the Constitution and its gua- rantees were stronger for good than she had sup- posed. Happy indeed was the change which ac- complished her object by the ballot-box and not by the sword!
Her fears of federal usurpation were not prema- ture. There was every thing in the aspect of America, at this period, to provoke the President and his friends into precipitate action. Foreigners, chiefly French, in numbers, pervaded the country, canvassing the course of government, promulging ultra doctrines as to the social system, and urging to extreme the " propagandism" which was the great lever of the Directory. And the press, in its daily issues, then exhibited a bitterness, a concen- trated rancour, to which nothing of subsequent years can be compared. But these were evils which, in time, would either work their own cure, or be checked by the conservative powers of the state governments. And whether they were check- ed or not, they could never justify Congress and the President in violating the charter of the Union. To this point they were now approaching.
At the summer session of 1798, were enacted the celebrated " Alien and Sedition Laws." The first was entitled " An Act concerning Aliens," and was approved on the 25th of June. It provided that it should be lawful for the President of the United States " to order all such aliens as he shall judge dangerous to the peace and safety of the United States, or shall have reasonable grounds to suspect
350
ALIEN AND SEDITION LAWS.
[CHAP. VI.
are concerned in any treasonable or secret machi- nations against the government thereof, to depart out of the territory of the United States, within such time as shall be expressed in such order." Under certain circumstances and conditions, the President was authorized to grant a license enabling an alien to remain; but if any alien, not having such license, was found in the country after having been ordered to depart, he was, on conviction, to be imprisoned for a term not exceeding three years. And the President was empowered, if in his opi- nion the public safety required a speedy removal, to cause any alien ordered to depart, to be arrested and sent out of the country. Other clauses of the same tendency completed the act, and it was to be in force for two years from its passage.ª The Sedition Act was approved on the 14th of July. It first forbade any combination or conspiracy to oppose or impede the government of the United States, or to intimidate its officers. But the principal clause was one pro- viding that if any person should write, print, utter, or publish, or cause to be written, printed, uttered, or published, any "false, scandalous, and mali- cious" writing against the General Government or Congress, or the President, with intent to defame them, or to bring them into contempt or disrepute, or to excite against them the hatred of the "good people" of the United States, or to stir up sedi- tion, such person, on conviction in a United States Court, should be punished by a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars, and by imprisonment not ex-
a It may be seen in the Resol. and Debates, 214, 215.
351
JOHN TAYLOR-RESOLUTIONS.
1798.]
ceeding two years. On the trial, however, the de- fendant might give in evidence as a defence, the truth of the matter in his publication. The act was to continue in force until the 3d of March, 1801.ª
Hardly had these laws gone into force, ere they roused high excitement throughout America. While many approved, and believed them required by the events of the times, a great body of the people considered them as involving a breach of the Constitution, and as opening the way to des- potism. In Virginia, the Republicans were aghast! They had, indeed, listened for sounds of deep-toned federalism from the government, but they were not prepared for such trumpet notes as these. With one accord they rallied for battle, and the real emergency of the case drew into their ranks some great men who had been strenuous advocates for the adoption of the Federal Sovereignty. The same scenes of popular debate occurred which had preceded the meeting of the Convention in 1788, and it was easily foreseen that at the next session of the Legislature, the storm would open.
These expectations were not groundless. A short time after the Assembly met, John Taylor, of Caroline, introduced nine resolutions, having re- ference to the course of the Federal Government, and particularly to the passage of the Alien and
a It is entitled " An act in addi- tion to the act entitled ' An act for the punishment of certain crimes against the United States.'" See Resol. and Debates, 215, 216.
b As originally presented, they are in the "Resol. and Debates," 202, 203.
1
352
GEORGE KEITH TAYLOR.
[CHAP. VI.
Sedition Laws. These well-known resolutions were from the pen of James Madison, but they expressed Mr. Taylor's sentiments, and were most ably supported by him in the debate that ensued. On the 13th of December, the House of Delegates resolved itself into a committee of the whole on the state of the Commonwealth, and Mr. Bracken- ridge took the chair. Then John Taylor opened his subject; he believed that liberty was in danger, and that the" occasion was " an awful one." He considered the obnoxious laws, first as to their con- stitutionality, secondly, as to their correspondence with natural rights. That they were not constitu- tional he contended, because power was nowhere delegated to Congress to make such laws as to alien friends ; because aliens had rights under the common law which these acts took away ; because they were deprived of trial by jury ; because the " three powers" of government were by these acts united in one hand, the President being authorized to make the rule, to judge the accused, and to exe- cute the sentence; and because the Sedition Law took away the freedom of the press, which Con- gress had not only no power, but was expressly prohibited to do. In proving that the laws were against natural right, Mr. Taylor had a wide field, in which he exercised himself at pleasure.ª
In favour of the laws, George Keith Taylor, of Prince George, was most prominent. He was a member of the Federal party, and much attached to John Marshall, whose sister he married. He
ª Resol. and Debates, 75-80.
353
DEBATE.
1798.]
was a man of high character, acute in argument, and powerful in declamation. Virginia owes to him her penitentiary system, and his efforts to ameliorate her criminal code made him a public benefactor. In the first part of the debate he con- fined himself to the defence of the Alien Law, urging that the admission of aliens into a country was matter of favour, and not of right ; that the country must protect herself against dangers arising from them ; that Congress had power under the Consti- tution to insure domestic tranquillity ; to define and punish offences against the laws of nations ; to protect against invasion, and to pass all laws "necessary and proper" for these purposes ; that this law was required by the state of the country ; and he concluded his first speech by depicting in eloquent terms the horrors of the French dominion, and the hazard that they might be extended to America.ª In his next effort he defended the Sedi- tion Law, on the ground that the common law punished the licentiousness of the press, but did not stop its issues by a " censorship;" that this was really what was meant by the freedom of the press, and that Congress had done nothing more than this in their late action.b
General Henry Lee aided Mr. Taylor in defend- ing the course of the Federal Government. He insisted that the Constitution was a compact, not of the states, but of the people; that therefore the proposed resolutions were "radically erroneous ;" that the Alien Law was intended to prevent injury,
a Resol. and Debates, 81-89.
b Ibid. 185-193.
VOL. II.
23
354
EDMUND BROOKE.
[CHAP. VI.
not to punish offenders ; that Congress had this power ; that the Sedition Law was sanctioned by high authority, for in 1776, the General Assembly of Virginia had itself passed a similar enactment, punishing any one who by word, deed, or publica- tion, should maintain and defend the authority of the King and Parliament ; and that no man in his senses could consider the " freedom of speech" as abridged, by the punishment of false, scandalous, and malicious libels.ª
The Laws were farther upheld with ability and research, by Mr. Magill, Mr. Cowan, and Mr. Cureton. Edmund Brooke, of Prince William, opposed the resolutions, because they interfered with the legitimate powers of the General Govern- ment. He said the people had two organs, the Federal Government and the State Legislature; and that the first was certainly to be preferred, be- cause its representation was purest. He declared that if his constituents should instruct him to vote for resolutions " having so alarming and dangerous a tendency, he would go in mourning for them ; he would bid adieu to legislation, and seek an asylum in some other region of the globe, among a race of men who had more respect for peace and order, and who set a higher value upon the blessings of good government !"b
All who supported the "Laws" opposed the " Resolutions ;" and on the other hand, all favour- able to the latter, made war upon the first. The
a Resol. and Debates, 157-162. b Ibid. 133.
355
WILLIAM POPE.
1798.]
issues involved in the two, were so complete, and so sharply defined, that neutrality was impossible.
To aid John Taylor, of Caroline, many brilliant debaters came forward. Mr. Mercer and Mr. Daniel argued against the Laws, urging that though the admission of aliens might be matter of favour, yet after they were admitted, they acquired rights which these laws violated; that if there was any power to send them out of the country, it was in the state Legislatures; that the sacred trial by jury must be given to them ; that Congress had no more power over the freedom of speech than of con- science : that is, had no right to touch either;a that to punish opinions, as to public men and measures, was the very worst form of violating the freedom of the press, and that this was done by the Sedition Law.b Wilson Carey Nicholas spoke but little, yet always with effect. In answer to General Lee's argument, that the Alien Law was preventive only, he insisted that it was punitive. For could there be a more severe punishment than to banish a man from the country; to order him to depart; to ar- rest him violently if he refused, and to tear him from ties which he might have formed in the home of his adoption ?c
William Pope, from Prince William, was a sin- gular character. Although possessed of the soundest practical sense, he had a vein of humour in his com- position, which was continually flowing out in keen
a See Amend. iii. Const. U. S. c Resol. and Debates, 151, 15 b Resol. and Debates, 91-102, 136 and see Madison's Report, 35, 36. -151.
356
JAMES BARBOUR.
[CHAP. VI.
repartee and ludicrous remarks. He replied to George Keith Taylor's views upon the danger of French influence, and in ridiculous style, rang the changes on Volney and Talleyrand, Genet, Porcu- pine, and Goodloe Harper. He said, "the gentle- man from Prince George has introduced a damsel, and that is the damsel of liberty. When he had done so, I confess I was seized with an ecstacy ; but when, at the same time, that gentleman would not permit her to remain within these walls, I ac- knowledge my feelings were very much wounded. For I am fond of all damsels, but particularly so of the damsel of liberty." He was willing to mo- dify the resolutions, provided it was still clearly declared that the Laws were unconstitutional.ª
In this debate, James Barbour, of Orange, made his first appearance in the arena of public life. He was but twenty-two years of age. His mind was capacious, and stored with liberal learning. He rose, in the committee, on the 17th December, and spoke several hours amid deep interest from all who heard. He was full of thought, and poured it forth without a moment's hesitation, in words sono- rous and expressive. From time to time, his en- thusiasm betrayed him into forms of language, which would not bear the test of a refined criti- cism, as when he said, " the thirteen United States, then the Colonies of America, after having been lacerated to the midriff by the vulture fangs of Bri- tish persecution, threw off their colonial subjuga- tion.""" And occasionally a more unhappy error
a Resol. and Debates, 102, 103. b Ibid. 108.
357
WILLIAM B. GILES.
1798.]
was shown, in expressions proving that he had tasted, with high relish, the infidel philosophy of France : " As to Mr. Volney, the cause of truth and virtue required he should speak more at large. He had the pleasure of seeing that meritorious cha- racter whilst in America, but he knew him better by history than from personal acquaintance. He from maturity had been influenced by the benevo- lent desire of ameliorating the condition of man- kind, by illuminating the mind and dispelling super- stition. It was for this sublime purpose we saw him traversing Asia, and sitting in meditative silence amidst the ruins of Palmyra, drawing wis- dom from experience, and developing the causes which contribute to the dissolution of the elements of society, and the overthrow of empires;" and (the orator might have added) thus preparing to hurl " The Ruins" at Christianity. Mr. Barbour attacked John Adams and his government with vigour, and argued against the "laws" in a strain of mingled reasoning and declamation, which strongly moved his hearers.ª No speech, during the debate, pro- duced a more manifest effect.
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